Local artisans hold holiday market

HONESDALE, PA — As live music and the aroma of freshly baked holiday cookies and assorted confections and pastries fill the air, 30 local artists, artisans and food entrepreneurs will welcome holiday shoppers to the second annual Artisans’ Market at The Cooperage on Sunday, December 15 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Displays of cards, jewelry, paintings, pottery, soaps, vases, lamps, picture frames, flowers and other gift items offer shoppers with the opportunity to purchase presents for their loved ones while supporting local artisans. This event is free and offers a warm holiday welcome to friends of all ages at 1030 Main St.

Live demonstrations will offer respite from shopping and live music will cloak the festivities in a holiday atmosphere as families sit down to enjoy a hot lunch or snack sold by Benjamin Cooper of The Anthill Kitchen. Children can have their pictures taken with Santa, as organized by the Honesdale Interact Club. Throughout the day, illustrator Ky Betts will do live caricature drawings, and Beatriz Querol-Zaldivar of Bea Creations will demonstrate acrylic painting. While these activities unfold, the unique works of local potters, seamstresses, carpenters and bakers will remain the centerpieces of the artisans’ market. Items range in price and purpose, ready to suit each customer’s holiday needs with fine local creations.

Artist Ellen Silberlicht will be selling “creatures from the sock drawer,” an array of brightly colored sock puppets for children, as well as functional pottery. Her dishwasher-safe mugs, bowls, jars, and teapots range from earthy to vibrant tones, prepared to adorn any kitchen with hand-crafted beauty.

Among the sewn products will be Vintage Bling’s bags, hats, aprons and jewelry by Ramona Jan. Jan repurposes quality fabrics to provide new garments including scarves made from vintage silks and handbags and hats crafted from high-end upholstery. Patterns of fabric collide to yield one-of-a-kind products.

Richard Miller of Dique Stone Products will display practical décor crafted from various types of stone and slate. His vases, picture frames, and lamps put a professional edge on natural products, creating works that can make a statement in a home or at the office. Barbara Consentino and Bill Walsh of Oakworks Studio show their love of natural wood and stone with their wooden cutting boards, platters and jewelry.

A colorful assortment of both sophisticated and playful jewelry by Hana Gorman will be available for purchase. Her polymer clay jewelry is elegantly composed from beads swirling with color. She also creates environmentally friendly jewelry by “up-cycling” plastic bags and other materials into wearable art.

Painter Beth Johnson will display original artwork and printed cards. Her oil and watercolor paintings are designs ready to hold season’s greetings as her note cards are sealed into envelopes or to ornament walls in their original forms.

Mount Pleasant Herbary will sell an assortment of products handmade from their homegrown, pesticide- free herbs. The herbs are incorporated into a variety of products including handcrafted soaps with herb chunks, felted soaps, therapeutic buckwheat pillows, herbal healing balms, lip balms and lotion bars. Bathroom gift sets and assortments of herbal teas will also be available.

Shoppers also will find the necessities for an aromatic cup of coffee and to keep your cookie jar full of the sweets eagerly anticipated every holiday season.

Marcia and David Dunsmore run a small home bakery, the Myrtle Avenue Bakehouse, in Hawley, PA. Using organic grains, available local products, and organic sprouted wheat flour, they bake products with health and the community in mind. Breads and cookies will overflow at their tables. Cookies include chocolate chip, oatmeal and golden raisin, molasses, farmhouse pillows and a vanilla cookie with ricotta and sour cream. For those who eat gluten free, the Dunsmores will provide coconut macaroons and chunky peanut butter cookies. Marcia and David’s fruit scones and savory cheese biscuits should not be overlooked, nor their special jams and compotes.

Joan Spencer of Sweet Eden will provide an array of holiday sweets ranging from the traditional German Christmas cookies and Lebkuchen, to decorated sugar cookies. Amid the bustle of the holiday season, Sweet Eden will help alleviate the stress of keeping the cookie jar full for visitors and family by taking orders.

Brandenburg Bakery’s Sarah and Errol Flynn from Jeffersonville, NY will delight those who love authentic German pastries and holiday treats.

In the midst of the season, the second annual Holiday Artisans’ Market provides a time to come together as a community in order to support local artisans and pick up gifts for the entire family. Join friends and family for an afternoon of holiday joy at The Cooperage.

A complete list of vendors can be found online at thecooperageproject.org/holiday artisans market. Links to more information about the artisans and their products are available alongside the list.